Pile fabric and method of making the same



Oct. 14, 1930. w. s. NUTTER PILE FABRIC'AND'METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Jan. 1'7, I929 lnvnror.

' William SNuITer ATTys.

Patented Oct. 14, 1930 UNITED" STATES PATENT oFiuca WILLIAM S. NUTTER, OF SANFORD, MAINE, ASSIGNOR TO GOODALL WORSTED COMPANY,

OF SANFORD, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE PILE FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Application filed January 17, 1929. Serial No. 333,081.

This invention relates to the Weaving of a warp pile fabric and especially a plush fabric of the so-called V weave type in which the pile warp threads are of mohair or a like slippery fiber.

Pile fabrics such as plushes, velvets, etc. may be divided into two classes which are commonly referred to as the W weavetype and the V weave type. In the W weave each pile loop is looped about three or more filling threads, each loop passing from the pile face of the fabric under one filling thread and then over one or more filling threads and then under another filling thread and back to the pile face of the fabric. This gives each loop a shape somewhat like the letter W; hence the designation W-weave. In the V weave fabric .each pile loop is looped about a single filling thread, that is, each loop passes from the pile face into the body of the fabric around a single thread and then back to the pile face of the fabric again, and thus has the shape of' the letter V; hence the designation V- weave. y

In the -W weave fabric each pile loop is securely anchored or tied into the body of the fabric because of the fact that it loops about a plurality of filling threads, while in the V weave fabric the pile loops are much less securely anchored because each pile loop loops about a single filling thread only.

There is less ex enfi involved in making a V weave pile fabric than a W weave pile fabric, part-1y due to the difference in the cost of the material going to make up the fabric. In these warp pile plush fabrics the pile loops are formed from pile warp threads, which during the weaving operation, are interlooped with the filling threads. Usually the material from which the pile warp threads are made is considerably more expensive than that from which the other warp threads and filling threads are made, for example, the pile warp threads may be of mohair yarn while the other warp threads and the filling may be cotton.

In the case of a W weave fabric where each pile loop is looped about a plurality of filling threads each loop will contain a much greater length of yarn than in the case of the V weave fabric where each pile loop 1s simply looped about a single filling thread. This extra length of the expensive plle warp threads which is involved in making the pile loops in the W weave pile fabr1c adds very materially to the cost of production.

But while less of the expensive yarn is used 1n the weaving of a V weave pile fabric yet the weaving of this fabric involves some difliculties not present in the weaving of the W weave fabric. Since in the V weave fabric each pile loop is looped abouta single filling thread only, said loops are not so securely anchored in the body of the fabric as in the case of the W weave fabric, and in order to hold the pile loops in the V weave fabric it has been necessary to employ an extra warp separate from and in addition to the warp comprising the regular warp threads. This extra warp is carried on a beam which is separate from that carrying the regular warp.

The threads of the regular warp are during the weaving operation under tension while the threads of the extra warp may have little or no tension and during the weaving operation these extra warp threads become crowded into the body of the fabric and thus assist in holding the V-shaped pile loops in place. Various terms are used to designate this extra warp such as slack warp. binding warp, extra warp, etc.

While this extra warp has been regarded as necessary in the making of a V weave plush in order to assist in binding the pile loops into the fabric yet there are certain disadvantages that result from its use.

One is that the presence of this extra or slack warp produces a crowding of the warp threads in the reed and harnesses of the loom. In weaving many plush fabrics it is more or less common to employ a reed having eighteen to twenty-two dents to the inch and in threading up a loom for weaving a double plush fabric of the V weave type there will be in each dent two pairs of regular or ground warp threads, two pairs of the warp threads of the extra or slack warp besides a pile warp thread. In other words there will be nine threads to the dent, and with twenty-two dents to the inch this would means one hundred and ninety-eight threads to the inch.

The handling of this large number of warp threads complicates weaving conditions as the crowding of the threads in the dents of the reed and in the harnesses interferes with the proper formation of the sheds, especially since some of the threads in eachdent are those of the extra warp which are more or less slack. Moreover, where the threads are so crowded in the loom there is more danger-of broken warp threads, and each broken warp thread involves the stoppage of the loom to have the damage repaired. Hence the presence of the extra slack warp threads, which has been deemed necessary in the weaving of theV weave fabrics, results in slowing down production due to more frequent stoppage of the loom for repairing broken warp threads.

Furthermore, since thethreads of the extra warp are more or less slack the actual tension of the individual extra warp threads will'varymore or less as the weaving proceeds, thus establishing a condition which tends to produce an unevenness in the pile surface of the fabric which detracts from its appearance. Hence while it has been deemed necessary to use the extra or slack warp in the production of V weave fabrics, yet the presence of this extra warp produces various disadvantages which it is highly desirable to overcome.

It is one of the objects of my present invention to provide an improved method of making a V weave pile fabric by which such a fabric can be made without the use of the additionalor extra warp and which fabric when completed has all the desirable characteristics of a high-grade plush as well as some additional desirable characteristics.

In carrying out my invention I weave a V-weave warp pile fabric with the usual number of picks per inch but with-simply the pile warp and the ordinary tensioned or ground warp, the extra or slack warp which caused the above recited disadvantageous conditions being eliminated. In other words the fabric is initially woven with a subnormal number of warpthreads requisite to bind the pile Vs into the fabric occasioned by the omission of the slack warp threads heretofore employed for that purpose. After the fabric thus made from interweaving the threads of the pile warp and the regular tensioned warp with filling threads is taken from the loom I appl to the back face'of said fabric a thin film-1i e coating of pyroxylin or some other similarbinding material which serves to bind together the portions of the threads exposed on the back face without, however, appreciabl obscurin the texture of the fabric.

I nd that tie binding effect of this thin film-like coating of pyroxylin is such that it ties the V-shaped pile loops into the fabric more firmly than is done by the loose or slack warp threads of the extra warp which have heretofore been used in the V weave fabric. The absence of the threads of this extra warp (four threads to the dent in the weaving of a double plush fabric) greatly facilitates the weaving operation, partly because it relieves the dents of the reed and the harnesses from the crowded conditionwhich obtains when the extra warp is used and thus eliminates the disadvantageous weaving conditions above referred to. In fact, with a reed having twenty-two dents to the inch the elimination of the extra warp will remove from the reed and harnesses something over five thousand threads in a sixty inch reed space.

This diminution in the number of threads in the dents allows the threadsin each dent to freely pass each other during the making of the shed and it produces a condition which reduces greatly the possibility of the threads becoming fouled or tangles or broken through the presence of a knot in any thread. Moreover, since all the warp threads of the fabric, that is, the pile warp threads and the regular warp threads, are under a controlled tension the result is that the pile face of the fabric will present an-even uniform appearance free from its or crowfeet or other im erfec tions which are apt to develop when the extra warp is used.

The weaving of the fabric in accordance with my invention by omitting the slack warp threads and substituting the flexible binding material does not of itself involve any change in the number of pile Vs per unit of area, In other words, a fabric embodying my invention has as many pile Vs per unit of area as a corresponding fabric woven with the usual slack warp threads for binding the pile Vs in the fabric. If then the number of picks be the same in both types of fabric the quality of the pile face will be same but the appearance of my fabric is better for the reasons above set forth.

The pyroxylin or other binding material which is applied to the back face of the fabric is not only of such nature that it will not obscure the texture of the fabric but it is not afiected by nor does it affect the operation of dyeing, scouring, washing or otherwise treating the fabric and, therefore, the plush fabric with the pyroxylin-coated back may be dyed, scoured, or otherwise treated during the finishing operations in the same manner as a fabric without the, backing. In fact, the presence of the pyroxylin coating on the back of the V weave plush fabric from which the extra or slack warp threads are omitted is highly advantageous during the dyeing,

scouring, washing or other finishing opera- 1,77s,1ee I 3 vents the pile loops from becoming loosened or pushed through the back of the fabric.

, ings diagrammatically a V weave plush fabric embodying my invention.

Fig. 1 illustrates diagrammatically the V weave with the extra warp omitted in accordance with my present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating more or less diagrammatically a fabric embodying my invention as it is initially woven.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the completed fabric.

As stated above it has heretofore been customary in the weaving of V-weave warp pile fabrics to employ a set of slack or stuifer warp threads in addition to the set of ground warp threads, this set of slack warp threads being for the purpose of binding the pile Vs into. the fabric. In weaving. a double warp pile fabric having the slack or stuffer warp threads it has been customary to place in each dent of the reed two pairs of the tensioned or ground warp threads, one for each fabric, two pairs of the slack or stuffer warp threads, one pair for each fabric, and a pile warp thread which passes alternately from one fabric to the other. This makes nine threads in each dent thereby producing the crowded condition of the warp threads above referred to.

In weaving a V-weave pile fabric in accordance with my invention the extra or slack warp is omitted thereby removing from each dent four slack warp threads when a double pile fabric is being woven. This will leave in the fabric only the tensioned warp threads and the pile warp threads together with the filling threads, and in the case of a double pile fabric each dent will carry only the two pairs of tensioned warp threads together with one pile warp thread. This is shown in Fig. 1 which illustrates in full lines the warp threads which are in each dent of the reed. This includes the tensioned or ground warp threads 2 and 3 in the upper fabric, the tensioned or ground warp threads 4 and 5 in the lower fabric, and the pile warp thread 10 which passes from one fabric to the other. This pile warp thread passes around alternate filling threads 12 in each fabric as is usual in V-weave warp pile fabrics and the adjacent warp pile threads have a staggered relation as indicated by the full and dotted line warp pile threads 10 and 11 in Fig. 1, it being understood that these represent the warp pile threads in adjacent dents. This reduction in the number of threads in each dent greatly simplifies the weaving operation and eliminates therefrom the various difficulties 7 and complications above referred to and. which have heretofore accompanied the wea ing of a double pile V-weave fabric which embodies in its construction the slack warp threads.

The omission of the extra or slack warp threads not only removes the crowded condition of the threads in the dents of the reed and harness which is present when the extra warp is used, but it enables production to be speeded up. In weaving the V-weave warp pile fabric having the slack warp threads there are three separate warps used, each wound on its'own beam, to wit, the pile warp, the regular tensioned warp and the extra or slack warp, each of which has to be drawn into the loom separately. When during the weaving any one of the warps runs out it becomes necessary to tie in a new warp. This tying-in operation is necessaril a slow and tedious one and involves stopping the loom for approximately a day. The omission of the extra warp eliminates the necessity of drawing into the loom the five thousand or more threads composing this warp and also eliminates the necessity of stopping the loom for a day or so at various intervals in order to tie in a new extra or slack warp. Furthermore, where the slack warp is omitted and there is less crowding of the warp threads in the reed and harness the danger of breakage of warp threads is much reduced 'so that in weaving the fabric shown in Fig. 1 the stopping of the loom to piece up a broken thread is much less frequent than in weaving the V-weave warp pile fabric having the slack warp threads. Furthermore, where the extra or slack warp is omitted it is possible to divide the tensioned warp on to two beams, one of which will be located in the loomin the position usually occupied by the beam carrying the extra or slack warp. By thus dividing the tensioned warp between two warp beams it is, possible to use a warp of double the length that can be used where the entire tensioned warp is wound on a single beam and this will reduce the stoppage time required for tying in a new warp. In fact, in weaving a fabric such as shown in Fig. 1 the stoppage time of the loom may be reduced as much as fifty percent over what it is in weaving a V-weave warp pile fabric having the slack warp threads.

' Then again, less power is consumed in weaving the fabric shown in Fig. l than in 'weaving a V-weave warp pile fabric having the slack warp threads, and the 100m can be run faster. The cost of production of the V weave fabric shown in Fig. 1 is thus considerably less than that of the V-weave warp pile fabric having the slack warp threads and some factors which contribute to this reduction in cost'may. be summarized as follows A reduction in stoppage time of the loom required for drawing 1n and/or tying in the warps;

A. reduction in the cost of the material used since the omission of the extra warp eliminates four out of every nine war threads heretofore used in weaving a dou le plush fabric or about five thousand threads in a sixty inch reed space, and the cost of the pyroxylin coating is considerably less than the saving in yarn;

Faster operation of the loom;

{fess weaving time lost in piecing up broken en s.

After the fabric has been woven as shown in Fig. 1 it is cut into the two fabrics in usual manner thereby producing the V-pile loops 14 in each fabric, and then the coating 15 of pyroxylin or other binding material is applied to the back face. This coating will preferably be a thin film-like coating which does not appreciably-obscure the texture of the back face of the fabric. It does, how-- ever, bind together the threads which are ex posed on the back face and thereby acts as a substitute for the omit-ted slack warp; threads in binding the pile loops into the fabric.

The completed fabric with the pyroxylin coating on the back face is one in'which the pile loops are anchored in the fabric more securely if anything than could be done with the use of the extra or slack warp threads and since the fabric is woven without the extra or slack warp threads and hence without the disadvantages resulting from the use of them, the pile face of the fabric has a better and more even appearance than warp is posslble to produce where the extra warp threads are used. The weaving of the fabric with the slack warp threads omitted does not involve any change in the number of picks per inch nor in the number or spacing of the pile Vs. .In otherwords the fabric may be woven in accordance with this invention with the same number of pile Vs per unit area as when the slack warp threads. are used to bind the pile Vs in the fabric.

The invention, therefore, may be con-- sidered as a V-weavewarp pile fabric initial- 1y woven with a subnormal number of warp threads requisite to bind the pile Vs into the fabric occasioned by the omission of the slack threads heretofore used for this purmade good by the application of a thin filmlike coating of pyroxylin to the back face of the fabric after it is woven. The fabric as shown in Fig. 1 will naturally be of lighter weight as it comes from the loom than the V-weave warp pile fabric having the'slack warp threads incorporated therein because it contains so many less warp threads but this lightness in weight is made up by the coating of pyroxylin applied to the bee of the fabric. The, hange in the weave or fabric structur'e of the V-weave warp pile fabric which is the result of omitting the slack or stuffer warp threads does not result in any change in the number of the pile loops 14 bodying this invention is in no way inferior to that of a V-weave warp pile fabric in which the slack or stutter warp threads are used. In fact, the quality is improved as the omission of the slack wa threads eliminates the crowded condition 0 the warp threads in the dents and in the harnesses of the loom which frequently resulted in producing a somewhat uneven appearance in the pile surface and such elimination results in a better and more even pile surface.

A V-weave plush fabric may be considered as having rows of V-shaped pile loops running lengthwise of the fabric, each row comprising the loops formed from a single pile warp thread and each loop being looped about a single filling thread. In my improved fabric wherein the extra warp is omitted there will be one such row of pile loops for each two warp threads in the fabric, each row of pile loops being thus separated by two warp threads only.

Furthermore, as stated above the pyroxy-. lin coatin is not affected by nor doesit affect the finishing'operations to which the fabric is subjected after it is woven, such for instance as scouring, dyeing, washing, etc. The pyroxylin has no affect upon the dye liquor nor is it affected by the dye liquor and being on the back face of the fabric it does not affect in any way any of the finish-ingoperations usually performed on the pile face of the fabric. In fact, the presence of this'pyroxylin backing is an advantage during such operations as it securely ties the pile loops into the fabric. and thus revents their becoming loosened.

While have herein referred to the inven-v tion as applied to a plush fabric yet it will be obvious that the principle involved in the invention is also applicable to other pile fabrics than those which are commercially known as plush fabrics.

' I claim.

1. A V-weave warp pile fabric having ground warp threads, filling threads and pile Vs, each pile V being looped about a single filling thread, said fabric being initially woven with the filling threads'around which the pile Vs are looped in substantially the same close arrangement as in the usual V- weave warp pile fabric but with a subnormal number of warp threads occasioned by the looping each pile V about a single filling thread, beating upthe filling threads to give them substantially the same spacing as exists in the usual V-weave warp pile fabric having the slack warp threads to bind the pile Vs in the fabric, and then applying to the backface of the fabric a coating of flexible binding material that ties or binds the pile Vs into the fabric and thus makes good the deficiency caused by the "omission of the slack warp threads. I

3. A V-weave warp pile fabric having ground warp threads, filling threads and pile Vs, each pile V being looped about a single filling thread, which fabric is initially woven with a subnormal number of warp threads requisite to bind the pile Vs into the fabric occasioned by the omission of the slack Warp threads heretofore employed for that purpose but without any reduction in the number of filling threads or pile Vs due to such omission, and which fabric so initially woven has appliedto its back a coating of flexible bindmg material that binds the pile Vs'into the fabric and thus makes good the deficiency caused by the omission of the slack warp threads.

4. The method of making a V-weave warp pile fabric which consists in initially weaving the fabric with a subnormal number of warp threads requisite to bind the pile Vs into the fabric occasioned by the omission of the slack warp threads heretofore employed for that purpose but without any reduction in the number of filling threads or pile Vs due to such omission, and then applying to the back face of the fabric a coating of flexible binding material that ties or binds the pile Vs into the fabric and thus makes good the deficiency caused by the omission of the slack warp threads. a

4 In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

WM. s, NUTTER. 

